A former member of the Watsonville City Council and Planning Commission says that greater transparency is needed in expenditures and city contracts especially in legal and consulting services. -DB
Register-Pajaronian
Opinion
January 16, 2010
By Emilio Martinez
While walking the districts these past few weeks I had some long-term Watsonville residents use the word “corrupt” numerous times when talking about how severely Watsonville has deteriorated in the past 15 years. I don’t know about corruption, but after almost two years on the Planning Commission and a little more than a year on the City Council, I can attest, without a doubt, that political cronyism has reduced Watsonville to a second-class citizen in a predominately first-class neighborhood.
Cronyism, through peer pressure and underhanded tactics, limits some people in office from expressing contradictory views and opinions.
I have to admit, I almost considered being a crony because it’s easier than being treated like Michael Vick at an American Kennel Club convention. But I just couldn’t do it, especially because it was becoming clearly transparent to me that Ralph M. Brown (Act) would spin in his grave if he saw our city government in action. About a year ago when we were amid budget cuts, I asked for copies of invoices submitted by our city attorney.
I wanted to determine if legal expenditures could be reduced. You would have thought I had asked for client-privileged information, which was the very reason cited by our city attorney in recommending to the City Council that they deny my request for these public records.
Oh, OK, you want me to approve your recommendation on how to proceed in a legal matter, but you don’t want me to know how much and what you charged me for? Before that, I was told by our city manager that it would cost the city too much money in staff time and materials to provide me copies. Well, how much did our city pay our city attorney to write that legal opinion? I bet it was more than $70, which is what the city can legally charge to photocopy 200 pages.
On March 19, after being a consistent pain in the ash can, I received a two-page letter from our city clerk. She wrote and cited the Public Records Act, like a seasoned attorney, and included 49 pages of the California Government Code. She let me know that I could receive copies of the invoices, but they would be redacted because “only portions of the invoices which are defined as public records by the Public Records Act are being released.”
Great, let me see them, finally. Well, you wouldn’t believe it, but our city attorney has been approving payment for his own invoices without any oversight, none whatsoever, since probably Day One.
Yep, he stamps and signs his own invoices for approval of payment, then forwards them directly to our city finance director, who then issues our city attorney a check. So, our finance director can see client-privileged information (unlike the council member who approves recommended legal actions) and issues checks to our city attorney without knowing what the City Council approved, as he is not privy to closed-door sessions.
When I brought this fact to the attention of our City Council, the members reconsidered their options with, I assume, the assistance of our city attorney. They finally agreed that I could view the invoices during working hours at the city clerk’s office, under her watch. So, if I was working 8 to 5, let’s say in Salinas, when would I get to see these records?
Elected officials and city staff “working together” is not working in Watsonville. Our city government will not be able to address the escalation of unemployment rates to Depression-era numbers, and increasing gang-related crimes if it does not also “work together” with our citizens. Transparency in expenditures and city service contracts, including consulting services and costs for legal services, is a necessity because governments that are not transparent are usually perceived by citizens as being corrupt. Many of us still recall Measure E, which was the taxpayers’ warning to the city that they did not trust it with their dollars. Measure C knocked the door completely off its hinges, leaving little doubt that taxpayers have little, if any, faith in our local government with their money — and rightfully so.
This recession will hopefully set new standards on how cities conduct business. Transparency and accountability should be taken to a higher level. Election season is around the corner and at least four City Council seats will be available. I hope that those who are planning on running for a seat are willing to put in more time than just television appearances, that they bring some business expertise to the table, and a back bone. Otherwise, expect to be reduced to a crony faster than you can say “Yes” to staff recommendations.
Emilio Martinez is a Watsonville resident and the City Council representative for District 6. The opinions of columnists are not necessarily those of the Register-Pajaronian.
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